Ranger mine remains closed after contamination

Reporter: Murray McLaughlin

KERRY O'BRIEN: The Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory remains closed tonight, a week after workers were accidentally exposed to water contaminated with uranium.

The Commonwealth scientist who monitors the impact of the mine on the surrounding Kakadu National Park last night tried to reassure workers and Aboriginal landowners that neither people's health nor the landscape had been adversely affected.

But the Territory Government says the mine can't re-open until it's satisfied that such an accident could never be repeated.

Murray McLaughlin reports.

MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: Energy Resources of Australia, ERA, has been mining uranium at Ranger Mine for more than 20 years.

The Commonwealth Government agency which monitors the impact of the mine on the surrounding Kakadu National Park has logged more than 120 so-called environmental incidents within the mining lease over that time and says none has caused damage to the park.

But the loudest alarm bells ever in the mine's history rang a week ago after workers at Ranger drank and showered with water contaminated with uranium.

HARRY KENYON-SLANEY, ENERGY RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA: There was an erroneous connection between a process water system and a drinking and showering water system which meant that there was water with slightly elevated levels of contaminants that was spread through the drinking water system.

The international mining company Rio Tinto, which owns two-thirds of ERA, has flown its chief medical officer, an expert in toxicology, from its London office and offered counselling services to anyone with lingering concerns.

ARTHUR JOHNSTON, GOVERNMENT SUPERVISING SCIENTIST: You can have what we call acute effect i.e., those that take place over a very short period of time, and then there's the potential for long-term.

The acute effects in this case are probably seen, that is, the tell tale signs, staff with irritation of the skin experiencing nausea and so on, and it appears that those acute effects were -- whilst present and you know should not have happened -- at least we're somewhat relieved that they were not more serious.

HARRY KENYON-SLANEY: Obviously they are concerned and we deeply regret the incident.

MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: The trouble for ERA is that a similar incident happened at Ranger more than 20 years ago.

Then, too, water which had been used to process uranium ore was hooked up to the drinking water system at the mine site, but no workers were endangered.

KON VATSKALIS, NT MINES MINISTER: In 1983, it was a very similar problem, however, since then we had an investigation of the mine by ANSTO, the National Atomic Energy Commission, in 2000 that went through the water processes and they ticked it off and since then we didn't have any incident at all.

MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: It seems to me simple enough to devise some sort of system whereby you can't fit pipe A into pipe B because the coupling just won't allow you?

KON VATSKALIS: No.

It should have happened.

It didn't.

MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: But things got worse for ERA two days after the wrong hoses were connected.

The same uranium contaminated water flowed several kilometres from the mine to this header tank near the township of Jabiru.

It then overflowed into a waterway which leads to the Majella Creek, a water source for Aboriginal people downstream.

ANDY RALPH, GUNDJEHMI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION: We've been told that some 150,000 litres of water ranging between 80 and 108 parts per billion, which is between four and five times the drinking water standard, flowed down towards the Majella Creek system.

YVONNE MARGARULA (TRANSLATION): When I heard the news I was upset and angry.

I was worried about my people MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: The Commonwealth Office of Supervising Scientist monitors water quality in the Majella Creek just outside the Ranger mine lease.

It's the wet season in the Top End and the creek's flowing fast and wide.

Testing has satisfied the supervising scientist that the overflow of contaminated water did not affect the quality of Majella Creek.

The concentrations of all chemicals remained within normal range and Arthur Johnstone sought last evening to put to rest the fears of traditional owners.

ARTHUR JOHNSTON: The maximum concentration of uranium downstream from the mine was lower than the safe value for animals and plants by a factor of about 100 and the concentration was also lower than the drinking water standard set for uranium by a factor of about 200.

This means that I can now provide assurance to the traditional owners and other Aboriginal people in the region that it is now safe to drink the waters in Majella Creek and also to eat the bush tucker as they've always done.

MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: The accident has come at a bad time for ERA.

Three months ago, the company qualified for accreditation to an international environmental management system.

The accreditation is subject to regular audit.

HARRY KENYON-SLANEY: We have another audit coming up in June this year which will check our compliance and we're hopeful that they will continue to give us a clean bill of health.

MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: Of more concern is the future relationship between ERA and the Mirrar Aboriginal people.

The relationship improved late last year when the company abandoned the Jabiluka uranium mine, close to Ranger and also surrounded by Kakadu National Park.

ERA has new fences to build after last week's accident.

HARRY KENYON-SLANEY: This is damaging to us, but it is something that I believe we can repair.

Only very recently we've been working very closely with the Aboriginal communities.

MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: The Ranger mine will remain closed till the company can satisfy the Northern Territory Government that systems have been changed.

A Senate inquiry into the uranium industry last year criticised the Territory Government's history of not adequately regulating the Ranger mine.

So keen was one CLP Minister to convince the public of the mine's safety, that he drank water from a waste pond.

Now the Labor Territory Government is talking about the possibility of prosecution.

KON VATSKALIS: We will not exclude any possible action against the mine.

MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: Including prosecution?

KON VATSKALIS: Including prosecution.

MURRAY McLAUGHLIN: Because that would be a first time that the NT government has prosecuted this company?

KON VATSKALIS: If the mining company has failed in its duties, we will consider all appropriate action against the mining company.